Harvard Certificate in School Management and Leadership

Expand your educational leadership capability to drive change in your school. 

The Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) is a multi-course certificate program that bridged the fields of business and education.  

CSML integrates expertise in managing teams and organisations with best practices in educational leadership, to provide you with frameworks, skills, and knowledge to effectively lead and drive change improvement in your school. 

CSML offers you the opportunity to reflect on and apply learnings to your unique context while interacting with and learning from a global network. 

The CSML certificate comprises 4 courses, which can be taken independently or completed together in any order to earn a comprehensive certificate:

• Leading Change 
• Leading School Strategy and Innovation 
• Leading People 
• Leading Learning 

Audience

Designed for principals plus 2 members of their leadership team. 

Facilitators

Develop and delivered in collaboration between the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and Harvard Business School (HBS).

Structure of program

Each course is delivered over 4 weeks, and you are expected to engage in and contribute to approximately 4 hours per week of self-directed learning. 

Courses are delivered virtually via Harvard’s online learning platform so you can manage and adapt your learning to fit your schedule. 

Self-directed learning

Self-directed learning activities, focusing on topics that include education, business and policy, undertaken in your own time include:

• watching case studies that explore other school leaders’ experiences, insights and best practice
• engaging in various activities to learn and network with your cohort
• reflecting on your practice, knowledge, skills and understanding and identify opportunities to contextualise learning
• engaging with specific content and projects.

The program’s structure fosters peer-to-peer learning ensuring that you have ample opportunity to engage with peers and facilitators. 

Online facilitated workshop

This optional 1-hour online session is an opportunity to consolidate and share learnings with other Victorian participants.

Learning outcomes

Each course offers its own unique learning outcome.

• Leading Change: learn to drive school change and help diverse stakeholders establish priorities and improve practice. ​
• Leading School Strategy and Innovation: identify existing challenges, incorporate and support innovation, and take a strategic problem-solving approach to plan and drive school improvement.​
• Leading People: manage and motivate staff, foster continuous improvement, and build leadership capabilities among individuals, groups, and teams throughout the school.​
• Leading Learning: develop school structures, systems, supports, and culture that lead to excellent teaching and learning in every classroom, for every student.

For more detailed information, visit the Harvard website.

Fees and financial support

Fully subsided for Victorian government school participants.

If you are from a non-government school, you will be required to pay the full fee of US$499.

Contact Leena Mohammed at academy.support@education.vic.gov.au for more detailed information on fees and subsidies.